Migration, Social Exclusion and Identity Issues of Macedonian Roma

ABSTRACT

The key aspects of issues related to Roma identity are inevitably linked to traditional migration on one hand and the long-term exposure of Roma to discrimination and social exclusion on the other. There- fore, the debate about identity issues, which are also disputable within the framework of the Roma community, would not be feasible without a brief review of the historical patterns of the movement of the Roma, processes of change during the migration waves and preservation of awareness of belonging to a group with specific ethnic and cultural features.

The contemporary analysis of the identity issues of Roma in Macedonia has an ambitious goal: through the application of three approaches used in the research of Roma, to give an overview of the causes and effects of the socio-economic status of Roma, migration and issues related to identity.

KEYWORDS: Roma, migration, identity, social exclusion